Solar Farm in Ilocos Norte Kicks Off

The 1MW solar farm just boosted Ilocos Norteâ€™s local power supply after the solar panelâ€™s full operation started.

The solar energy farm has a total of 3,240 sheets of 310 solar modules with a 950 kilowatt inverter and a 1,000 kilovolt-amps step-up transformer and high voltage switch gear are installed in the nearly one hectare vacant lot at the back of the main office of the Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative (INEC) in Suyo village in Dingras tow.

“The solar farm will definitely improve the power voltage quality in the province due to the projectâ€™s proximity to the distribution system,” INEC general manager, Felino Herbert Agdigos said.

â€œThe power generated from the solar farm will definitely enhance our system efficiency and our power quality,â€ he added.

The full operation of the solar farm formally kicked off on July 25 with the presence of Moon Jiang, the president of Bosung Powertec Philippines Inc., Ferdinand Villareal of the National Electrification Administration (NEA) and local officials.

Based on the mutual BOT agreement, Agdigos said Bosung Powertec Philippines will turn-over the entire solar farmâ€™s facilities to INEC with free of charge after 15 years of operation.

Meanwhile, Villareal of the NEA cited the INEC is the countryâ€™s first electric cooperative that engages into renewable energy.

He urged the other cooperatives in the country to replicate this initiative to attain the right balance between renewable and traditional sources of energies.

For his part, Jiang said the solar farm, which has a total cost of $3 million, is expected to generate 1.6 megawatt hours annual generation and Php11 million annual revenue.